Pretty good wind this morning. It was about 15 when Andy and I headed out about 1/2 hour before racing. Some gusts in upper teens.
Unfortunately wind backed off before we got started and ended up doing 2 races in about 6-12 mph. Only occasional gusts that we could plane on the reaches.
Andy did great with a pair of 6's. He may have been the fastest guy upwind. He railed the board more than anyone else was and that really helped him slice through the leftover wind chop. Most kona guys say you shouldn't rail the board too much because it starts sucking water under the step tail (which it does) but Andy said he just let it suck and gargle and was able to cut through the chop much better.
I got somewhere between 10-15 I think in the first race. Second race I finished 14th I think. But, I got protested by 15th place at the finish (Mohammed). We rounded the last leeward mark with him a board length in front. I tried to climb on him but couldn't so I tacked over to starboard. He continued on port.
When I tacked back to port to go to the line he was tacking to starboard on the other side of the course. As we approached the finish he continued to hail starboard (still more than 50 yards from each other) and I responded that I saw him and was going to go over the top. When we got within a close enough distance to make a decision I felt I was going to be able to cleanly pass over the top, so I continued sailing strong to the finish. I crossed safely in front of him and he was probably 2 feet or more behind my board when he crossed behind me.
He claims he had to alter course and slow down but I saw no evidence of either. It was not nearly as close as many many many other crossings I see happen at races. He protested me when he finished and we had to do a formal protest meeting an hour or so after we got to the beach.
Both of us stated our cases and agreed on all the aspects of the situation except for that he feels he had to alter course to avoid hitting and I feel that he never actually altered course, and furthermore he didn't need to. Neither of us had witnesses. Check out the picture below...
Unfortunately the protest committee ruling was that I failed to give way so I got disqualified from that race. I'm disappointed in that ruling because I don't know what I could have done differently other than just concede the position to him. How far ahead does a port tacker have to cross in order for a starboard tacker not to be able to call 'protest' and get awarded the better finish?
Hopefully we get planing conditions tomorrow and I sail a bit better.
Unfortunately wind backed off before we got started and ended up doing 2 races in about 6-12 mph. Only occasional gusts that we could plane on the reaches.
Andy did great with a pair of 6's. He may have been the fastest guy upwind. He railed the board more than anyone else was and that really helped him slice through the leftover wind chop. Most kona guys say you shouldn't rail the board too much because it starts sucking water under the step tail (which it does) but Andy said he just let it suck and gargle and was able to cut through the chop much better.
I got somewhere between 10-15 I think in the first race. Second race I finished 14th I think. But, I got protested by 15th place at the finish (Mohammed). We rounded the last leeward mark with him a board length in front. I tried to climb on him but couldn't so I tacked over to starboard. He continued on port.
When I tacked back to port to go to the line he was tacking to starboard on the other side of the course. As we approached the finish he continued to hail starboard (still more than 50 yards from each other) and I responded that I saw him and was going to go over the top. When we got within a close enough distance to make a decision I felt I was going to be able to cleanly pass over the top, so I continued sailing strong to the finish. I crossed safely in front of him and he was probably 2 feet or more behind my board when he crossed behind me.
He claims he had to alter course and slow down but I saw no evidence of either. It was not nearly as close as many many many other crossings I see happen at races. He protested me when he finished and we had to do a formal protest meeting an hour or so after we got to the beach.
Both of us stated our cases and agreed on all the aspects of the situation except for that he feels he had to alter course to avoid hitting and I feel that he never actually altered course, and furthermore he didn't need to. Neither of us had witnesses. Check out the picture below...
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| Me crossing the finish line on port tack ahead of #1875 on starboard. 1875 protested me on this crossing, and I ended up losing the protest hearing. I think this picture shows someone trying to head up and losing power in their sail from being clearly underneath my crossing. |
Hopefully we get planing conditions tomorrow and I sail a bit better.
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